John Cena Will Surpass Ric Flair, One Way To Save Wrestlemania Title Match, CM Punk Finished, WM30 On Demand

John Cena is only 36 and a 14-time world champion, he doesn’t look like he will be retiring anytime soon. Do you see him breaking Ric Flair’s 16-time world title record?

While John Cena will celebrate his 37th birthday next month (the 23rd), he’s still very much in his prime and appears to be on his way to surpassing Ric Flair’s mark as a 16-time world champion. I would actually be surprised if Cena didn’t surpass 16-world title reigns. One thing I spent some time on in the latest Premium Mailbag is talking about where Cena goes from here. He’s already accomplished everything, he’s a guaranteed Hall of Famer and the biggest WWE star since The Rock and Steve Austin. As with other greats, Cena will further his legacy from everything he accomplishes from now until he retires. It’s what icons do and now it will be how many benchmarks can Cena set as one of the most valuable performers to ever work for WWE.

The build to Batista vs. Randy Orton at Wrestlemania XXX began with everyone afraid of two heels facing one another. What if it becomes three with Triple H?

Many readers are skeptical about Daniel Bryan going over Triple H at Wrestlemania 30 and getting a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I’ve been a broken record for months now. The only way WWE can save the World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania is by inserting Daniel Bryan. Without that, the match will be a disaster. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5 stars in quality, the crowd would turn so hard it would be impossible to accomplish anything. I’m hopeful WWE does the right thing but anything is possible. Daniel Bryan has earned his payoff and WWE has a rare opportunity to give it to him on Sunday.

Do you see CM Punk being in play as a possible acquisition for Jeff Jarrett’s new promotion?

CM Punk is under WWE contract until July and I honestly believe if he doesn’t return to WWE, his days as a professional wrestler are over. We don’t know much about the circumstances surrounding Punk’s departure, as it’s more speculation, but most can conclude he’s suffering from a wicked case of burnout. If Punk isn’t happy working in main event matches in WWE, I can’t see him happy working anywhere else. I know the politics are a pain and it’s not fair seeing part-time talent take the Wrestlemania spotlight but I just don’t see Punk being excited about starting over at this point in his career. However, friends of Punk have said it’s not about the money to him and he’s more than financially secure, so who knows.

How soon will Wrestlemania 30 be available on the WWE Network after its live airing?

Because Wrestlemania 30 is a WWE Network original it will be available for playback immediately upon its conclusion. The reason it’s taken so much time for Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber to become available is they were not WWE Network originals and the policy is content that doesn’t originate there is available 30 days after its initial airing.

From the Ask WNW vault…

December 2012: Is it just me or has the return of Brock Lesnar been somewhat of a bust? He came back with so much hype, had a couple OK matches and now he has been gone for so long in between dates that I totally forgot about him until the Slammys? I know WWE wants to get the most out of his few dates but I feel they did a better job with The Rock then with Brock. - Let’s look at the numbers. Brock Lesnar has headlined two WWE pay-per-views this year – Extreme Rules (vs. John Cena) and SummerSlam (vs. Triple H). Extreme Rules did 263,000 buys (up from 209,000 the year prior and 182,000 in 2010) and SummerSlam did 350,000 buys (up from 296,000 the year prior and even with the 350,000 in 2010). WWE views these numbers as a major success and would like to retain the services of Brock Lesnar after they use him at Wrestlemania 29 next year. There was talk of Lesnar working Survivor Series or another pay-per-view in 2012 but the company ultimately decided to keep him on the shelf to preserve the dates on his contract.

The next installment of Ask WNW is scheduled to run on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

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1 idea for cm punk to come back at mania is if he interfere in brock vs taker match and give both men a gts.

Win

And that accomplishes absolutely nothing!

http://www.harvestmoonparadise.com anthonyd46

The only thing that makes sense with the last we saw of punk storyline wise would be to screw over HHH since the authority eliminated him from the royal rumble. Nothing else makes sense for him.

Tom Lee

Just forget about cm punk !

Splash

Agreed, every day there is the same Punk question asked a different way.

King A sshole

First of all, Ric Flair is a 24 time World Heavyweight Champion. Secondly, I agree with what George “The Animal” Steel said, “Anyone given his push, could be John Cena.” Lastly, the fact that Cena has fourteen title reigns in twelve years, doesn’t show how great Cena is, it shows how far the title has fallen.

chris

first off, the name you chose suits you perfectly, asshole. secondly, all pro wrestling titles are “props”. they are given or better yet “loaned” to respective performers according to a scripted storyline. real championships in real sports have value because they are earned by athletes in real forms of competition.
if FOSSIL FLAIR was a 16 time champion, it just means a promoter gave him the title 16 times.

BIG M

Thanks for the obvious explanation on how titles work within kayfabe.
Outside kayfabe Titles in Pro Wrestling do have some value professionally.
There a sign of a persons talent as a performer and recognition from their superiors and their peers that there good enough to to headline a show or two and put bums in seats to use an old theater expression.
The Pro Wrestling industry is no different than the film,theatre or music industries it’s all about the $$$.
If a promotion puts a title on you it means they think you can make them Money same as a record company that foots the bill for an artist’s Album and tour or a film studio paying an actor 20 million bucks because they think a movie he/she stars in can make 10 times their money back at the box office.
Flair over a 30 year period made a lot of people a lot of $$$ that’s why he had more title runs than anyone else that simple.
So call him a Fossil if you want but I’d rather admire his accomplishments in his chosen profession.

Bob’s Diner

You are wrong on one point:

“Flair over a 30 year period made a lot of people a lot of $$$ that’s why he had more title runs than anyone else that simple.”
Not true at all. Majority of those titles were in the NWA – and look where they are now.
And look at the people he has held more titles than; Austin and Hogan are without a doubt the biggest draws in the history of pro-wrestling. Compared to them, Flair is lucky to be on the same level as The Miz as far as drawing power goes.

BIG M

No he did make them Money those bonehead promoters the Crockett family being the biggest ones just lost it all through bad Business decisions.
Most if not all the promoters back in the old territory system were horrible businessmen.
I mean how did you think VKM was able to compete with them all territory by territory and put almost all of them out of business so quickly.

Bob’s Diner

Well, that actually comes down to Vince being cuthroat and underhanded in some areas.

But as far as drawing power goes, Flair was never on Hogan or Austin’s level. Never. At the peak of the 80′s boom, NWA were drawing crowds half the size of WWF. Flair had little worldwide appeal, whereas Hogan was a superstar. People can act like he is the greatest all they want, but to pretend he was a big draw is just plain wrong.

BIG M

I never said he was outdrawing Hogan I said he was NWA/WCW’s biggest draw from about 1982 to 1990.
He wasn’t half selling arenas either WWF/E were just selling out bigger venues than NWA/WCW were booking at that time.
Flair would sell out 5-10 thousand seat joints easy.
Those are numbers companies like TNA would kill for these days.

Bob’s Diner

OK so you’ve proven my point – if he wasn’t the biggest draw ever, then why does it matter if he no longer has the most world titles? I just don’t get why it is a big deal to people. Hogan, The Rock and Austin have held less WWE titles than just about half the roster now but they will always be remembered. Bruno Sammartino only held it twice and look how much the fans wanted him in the hall of fame.

BIG M

Your only thinking about it from a business point of view.
Hogan made a bit more money than Flair fine.
But who contributed more to Pro Wrestling as an artform Hogan or Flair.
And just for the record Sammartino never drew a dime outside of New York.
But he added to the industry as an artform fans knew that and wanted him to take his rightful place in the HOF because of it.

Bob’s Diner

“But who contributed more to Pro Wrestling as an artform Hogan or Flair.”

Hogan, without a doubt. It wouldn’t be where it is today without him.
And that’s not just a ‘business’ point of view – Hulk Hogan was just flat out a phenomenon.
So again I ask, why is it so important that Ric Flair have the most world title reigns forever? What did he do that was so important or special to deserve a record that no one should be allowed to break?

BIG M

No your are still thinking from business point of view” Hogan was a phenomenon” VKM and WWF/E marketing department were the phenomenon mate without then there would be no Hulkimania.
Flair was a ring general with wit a personality beyond compare he could make you hate him, Love him and could make you laugh so hard you cry a true sport entertainer to use today’s vernacular.
Without Flair to inspire kids like Micheal Hickinbottom or Paul Levesque there would never have been a Shawn Micheals or Triple H.
And without Flair’s hilarious antics in (and especially) out of the ring there would have been No DX.
So in my mind Flair contributed way more to Wrestling as an artform than Hogan ever did with the say your prayers take your vitamin shtick or even The NWO as memorable as those periods of Wrestling were.

Bob’s Diner

So I guess the answer to my question is that Ric Flair is your favourite so his record should still stand – is that what you are saying?
If that is your answer, just say it.

BIG M

Well no he’s in my top 10 but he’s not my favorite wrestler.
It’s just that in the 30 year argument about who was better Flair or Hogan I picked Flair.
I mean half the fans in every live crowd shout WOOOO any time a worker uses a chop or figure four just in tribute to the guy.
Don’t see anyone in a live crowd shouting “watcha gonna do” anytime a worker drops a leg do you.

Bob’s Diner

So that’s his contribution to wrestling? Chops? Oh wow… that’s why his record shouldn’t be broken??
Hulk Hogan wasn’t a great ring technician (and for the record, Flair was terribly overrated), but he captured the imagination of people worldwide. His great popularity gave exposure to a lot of great talent – to discount his contribution to pro-wrestling because you don’t like the guy is just ridiculous.

BIG M

“To discount his contributions to Pro Wrestling because you don’t like the guy is ridiculous” are you describing me or yourself.
Never said I didn’t like Hogan he’s on my top ten list as well.
But Flair’s 3 spots above him on my list that’s all.
Lots of other workers past and present I’m fans of too and they arnt even on my top ten list would you believe Austin, CM Punk and even Daniel Bryan arnt on it.
If you want to know my list of Workers past and present I don’t like you would probably agree 100% with me.

Bob’s Diner

I would hope your wrestlers you like list includes Charlie Brown from Outta Town

BIG M

Thats just silly.
This from a guy who loves pointing out trolls.
Grow up.

Bob’s Diner

That was a joke.
Sheesh

BIG M

I Know it was a joke didn’t think it was funny just bloody immature.

Bob’s Diner

I thought being someone who likes old-school wrestling you would appreciate the humour of someone considering Jimmy Valiant a great wrestler, but obviously I was wrong. Forgive me for thinking you had a sense of humour or were interested in some friendly banter

BIG M

Not that old school I was born in 91 for crying out loud thought you were making a peanuts reference.

Bob’s Diner

Haha that would have been weird… OK then I think we have our wires crossed there… http://youtu.be/fSIYXjzgv4Y in case you ever get bored enough…

BIG M

Thanks I actually don’t mind old Wrestling shows my grandfather gave me a bunch of old tapes when I was a kid wich is actually how I know all of this stuff.

Bob’s Diner

Some can be good… some can be boring as you could imagine… and some things are just like Jimmy valiant – hilarious

King A sshole

My name reflects my lifestyle…

Bob’s Diner

You again, eh? How goes the trolling business?

opie

What did Flair do that Cena hasn’t?

King A sshole

Put over talent, stole the show, (or tried too) every night, improved, didn’t get someone fired for spitting in his face, always gave 100% in the ring and on the mic, made everyone he was ever in the ring with look better and grow as a performer. In short, Flair is excellence, Cena is mediocre.

http://www.braysballtalk.com/ Aaron Giddens

In short, you’re a typical internet fan who hates Cena and is blinded by that hate and therefore can’t see his actual value.

Snap

I was under the impression that Daniel Bryan was fired for choking Justin Roberts with his tie, not spitting in Cena’s face. I’m sure that if Vince can have people literally kiss his ass, then Cena could handle being spit on as part of an angle. After all, Mick Foley has Randy Orton spit in his face.

As for what Flair has done which Cena hasn’t, well… Flair has never been shy about turning heel and drawing as a heel. I believe that if Cena truly is as one of “the greats” then he should be able to turn heel and continue to draw

Cena certainly doesn’t need to turn heel to be a “great” but if he just continues to ride his current character until he calls it quits, he won’t be on the same level as Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan or even The Rock, all of whom have played both sides.

Bob’s Diner

Always gave 100%??? I’m sorry, have you seen anything from Ric Flair in the last 20 years? His promo work is about the same as Cena and quite frankly, he’s worked the same match since about 1984 – I really don’t see how you can act like Flair is the greatest and Cena is the worst when they are incredibly similar

J Vomkrieg

I must be one of the few people who really does not appreciate Ric Flair. I cant stand his promos and rambling slurred speech. His matches, with the exception of Vs Shawn at Wrestlemania, have never done anything for me. (And lets face it, anyone vs Shawn at Wrestlemania is going to be a 4 star match at least)

His behaviour in recent years has been terrible. The Jim Ross debate fiasco, the rambling incoherent TNA run, the promos back in WWE that only a Flair fanboi could love.

I have no idea why he is held up as a wrestling god by so many people.

Bob’s Diner

You are not alone – I agree with everything you are saying. I’ve seen matches where the guy blatantly no-sells being rammed into the ring post – if Hogan did that, everyone would complain. And his promo work is terrible. I find it hilarious people are saying his titles were because he was a draw or something, considering he was never a real draw throughout his career.

Skyrim

Wrestle long enough to become an embarrassment LOL

Bob’s Diner

He’s a 24 time champion in his mind only – no organisations recognise the other 8 reigns.

EDIT:
That George Steele quote is so wrong. Randy Orton has easily had the push John Cena has had and just look how that’s worked for WWE – he isn’t even a quarter of the ‘star’ John Cena is

BIG M

I know I’m probably not the only one saying this but no-one and I mean NO-ONE should ever break Flair’s record for most World Title Runs.
If you will allow the Mark expression It would be tantamount to Wrestling sacrilege.
But that’s just one man’s opinion.

PFA56

100% agree.

Xavier

Doesn’t really matter to me honestly. Two completely different eras. Cena is from a era that featured two titles with two seperate brands (sometimes three), Flair’s era only featured one title. Regardless of rather Cena passes his title reigns or not history will still regonize Flair as the better wrestler. Either way though both are great in their own right and have contributed greatly too the business

BIG M

True Flair is the only person I know off to have multiple runs with the NWA, WCW and WWF/E titles.
But do you think young fans 20 years from now will know that.
Would WWE make that point clear No sadly they would probably not.
Don’t want to start the Cena argument again but I don’t like the idea of future fans being told that Cena was better than Flair because he had more title runs in WWE.
But thats just the amateur Wrestling historian in me I guess.

Xavier

I understand were you’re coming from, fans in Flair’s era were told he was better then Buddy Rogers, Bruno, Gorgeous George etc etc. We were told that Austin & Rock were better then Hogan, Flair etc etc. It happens. Everybody grows up in different eras therefore their perception of reality is different. It’s just like in sports or music. Parents are quick to tell their kids that Michael Jackson or Prince were better then Usher or Chris Brown but kids will argue he wasn’t because they didn’t grow up on MJ or Prince like they have with Usher or Chris Brown, their parents (back when they were young) told them that James Brown & Curtis Mayfield were better then MJ & Prince and of course they argued that. It’s just part of the cycle really.

BIG M

Yeah I know think I even made that point before a while back on a different subject.
I think it’s just the fact I consider Flair’s title record on par with Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak that I’m so gung ho about it never being beaten.
And I’m fairly sure the streaks never going to be broken Taker’s going to retire with that I hope.
I don’t think anyone else will beat that record number in the future either least not in my lifetime.
I just hope future generations of fans know about the performer’s of our era of fandom that’s all.

Xavier

Agreed, Taker’s streak will be unmatched. It’s funny to think about the streak in a historical context sometimes because from 1991 through 2000 Taker remaining undefeated was only done by mere coincidence. Ross I think was the first one to mention it during WM17 and he only did so in passing if I remember correctly.

BIG M

Yeah I know probably the greatest case of obliviously and accidental brilliant booking in history ha ha.
Although 1 or 2 guys have had a a bit of a streak going and WWE never mentioned it.
Think Edge got up to 7 or 8 -0 till he went under to Taker at Mania 24.

Salacious B. Crumb

The Miz is currently 4-0 at Wrestlemania.

Bob’s Diner

Has he even been on 4 WrestleManias? 2 years he was the preshow, which doesn’t count as WrestleMania

Guest

Very good analogies. You are so good at proving your point.

J Vomkrieg

I have the opposite experience. I see a lot more people saying “back in my day X was better” than i do people honestly saying that the current stars are better than those of yesterdays.

I see a heck of a lot of nostalgia and selective memories.

Guest

Agreed.

This is TheBigKing1 just to let you know. Im just a guest a lot lately. Different reasons.

Snap

I agree. In fact, I think it’s more impressive to hold a World title for a lengthy reign, rather than being a participant in a game of World title hot potato. It’s a contrast between eras, yeah, with the last great title reign being Hulk Hogan’s four year run. It’s what makes the Daniel Bryan chase so frustrating and also has the side effect of having people adopting a “wait and see” mindset as to whether or not WWE will actually let him run with the title when he wins it.

The cycle will even repeat past Cena. If he does manage to surpass Flair’s record, in another decade there will be someone who will surpass Cena’s record, and so on.

J Vomkrieg

4 year long title runs wouldn’t work in the modern, 2+ TV shows a week era.

How many people were over Punks reign by the end of it? How many would be screaming bloody murder if Cena won the title at extreme rules this year and held it until 2020.

The stories move faster, but most importantly, you don’t have the territories. Bruno could be champ for 7 years because they could always bring in new and exciting challenges from out of town.

Snap

Believe me, I’m not saying title reigns should be four years long or whatnot, but when they are five minutes to 24 hours, it gets a little ridiculous. To answer your question, though, it would all depend on if people like whoever is holding the belt. Cena fans want him to always be champion and Daniel Bryan fans want him to be champion and Batista fans… sorry, I wasn’t thinking with that one, but the point is if you enjoy the work of the champion then there’s no reason the title should suffer to the whims of the ADD generation.

One of the primary differences with the Hogan era and today is the champion wasn’t featured on TV every single week and it was often rare to have the champion wrestle a match on free TV outside of Saturday Night’s Main Event. The reason an Undertaker match is so special is because they are treated as special events.

The thing is, if WWE really put in the effort and let things evolve organically, there’s no reason they couldn’t recreate the Bruno model today. The problem is, as the situation with Tensai proved, WWE expects instant gratification on gimmicks and characters such that if they aren’t immediately over, they’re dubbed a failure and repackaged.

GOR

Hav to agree about 2 different eras. In flair’s era wrestling talent actually mattered & had more respect than anything else. In cena’s era it’s all about selling merchandize. It dozn;t matter how good r ur wrestling skills, mic skills or character,, if sell more than others u r the champ !

GOR

Hav to agree about 2 different eras. In flair’s era wrestling talent
actually mattered & had more respect than anything else. In cena’s
era it’s all about selling merchandize. It dozn’t matter how good r ur
wrestling skills, mic skills or character, if ur merch sells more than others, u r
the champ !

Winnipeg

CM Quitter!

Venom

People are complaining about the CM Punk questions but are they complaining that they get asked or they get answered/published? Cause we’ll always have trolls or people who ask multiple wwe network questions that hve already been answered before. I think the problem is these questions don’t get ignored. They should though. I understand wrestling sites want to accommodate everybody but sometimes you gotta put your foot down. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the same person who asks the CM Punk questions. Just like it turned out it was always the same person who asks about Molly Holly (Nora Greenwood)

Bob’s Diner

I find the discussion about the number of title reigns quite interesting – I’m not sure why people get so defensive of Flair’s ‘record’. I mean, why should no one be allowed to break that? Are there others people consider ‘the greatest of all time’? Yes – and they have less world title reigns. Are there others that drew more? Yes – plenty, and they all had less world title reigns as well. John Cena will most likely have more world title reigns. I expect Randy Orton to as well. Edge probably would have if he had kept wrestling, since he won 9 in the space of 2 years. Do people get so made about that? Or is it just because John Cena is going to do it?

J Vomkrieg

It’s the “Rose tinted glasses” of wrestling fans.

People always look back at previous eras and get all defensive. When Austin was big, people were probably saying he was no Hogan. When Hogan was big, people probably said he was no Bruno. When Bruno was big, people probably said he was no Lou Thesz. And when Lou Thesz was big, they probably said he was no Plato.

The current generation always suck, and the old days were always better.

Bob’s Diner

Kinda like how half the internet want a return of the Attitude Era – apparently the wrestling was way better!

J Vomkrieg

Look at the NAO getting pop, for saying the same catch-phrase they did 10 years ago.

Nothing against the NAO. They are alright, but people were cheering the nostalgia and not the act in the ring.

Bob’s Diner

Ooooh don’t get me started on the Old Age Outlaws…

Venom

Even Kane’s royal rumble eliminations record was broken this year by Roman Reigns. And Kane had that record for over 10 years. Edge had a 7-0 streak at wrestlemania, Miz is apparently undefeated at wrestlemania. I’m sure there will be someone who will come close to the record Undertaker set but won’t actually break it. That’s the only one I don’t think should break only because he was able to take a cartoon character and make it work in the modern era. He always remained loyal when WCW was offering wrestlers money left and right. He was never the face of the company or held a title for a long period of time. He also managed to make any character modification work like biker gimmick, short hair heel, Mohawk Undertsker.

Bob’s Diner

Meh how many WrestleManias has The Miz even been on – 3?

Venom

I think there was more then that. But that’s not the point. I do think there will be a few wrestlers using WM undefeated streaks long after Taker retires. It can even be a future storyline where 2 guys are like 9-0 at WM and their 10th match have to face each other. But it has to be guys that can put a match like Taker and HBK. Not say The Miz who I do like but I don’t think can put a 5 star match.

GOR

NO. actually the story-lines, characters, matches & even titles were more interesting.

Robert J

Your wrong Xavier….. Everyone know Michael Jackson is better than any other singer, see the facts. Thank you

DW

What is the big difference between Flair and Cena? The internet! That’s right kids, if The internet was around when Flair was in his prime you would probably view him the same way you view Cena. Inluences are a mother…FYI I don’t care for Cena either but logic is logic is logic.

Redertainment

After Chris Benoit, I don’t like using the phrase guaranteed Hall Of Famer.

GOR

Does WWE kno wat they r doing with Batista ? Sometimes, he is a face against Authority; against other wrestlers, he is a heel. On mic he acts like neither, more like an anti-hero [who acts badly but thinks good].

R they trying to create another anti-hero character like Ortan some time back ? or r they just testing the waters by hoping that eventually fans will accept him as a face, by putting him against authority ?

As usual with WWE creative writing, its chaos !

Bob’s Diner

They are trying to give you a swerve when HHH helps Batista win the title at WrestleMania

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